Sunday Runday: Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon

This story starts back in January of 2018.  Back when there was a draw for the 2018 Seawheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver. 

My friend Sugarkissed had run the race in 2017 and raved about it.  In fact, everyone I knew who had run the race raved about it.  And it had been on my bucket list for years.  And then my friend Stiny ran her first half marathon in 2017 and became hooked.  

So in January 2018, I suggested that the three of us enter the drawing for the SeaWheeze Half Marathon for the 2019 race.  And we did!

Unfortunately, as is the case with random drawing entries, we didn't all get in.  Which meant Sugarkissed and I were heading to Vancouver, but Stiny would not be joining us.  And really that just means we'll have to run it again one year WITH her.  

SeaWheeze is a two day event that is jammed packed and begins the day before the race.  Packet pick-up included all sorts of fun like hair appointments, nail appointments, sports bra fittings, tattoos, yoga, meditation.  I signed up for some late afternoon appointments because I thought I would get in early afternoon on Friday.  I ended up getting in a little later than expected and headed right to the Convention Center where packet pickup was.

I managed to make it to both my appointments for hair and nails.

And then I found Sugarkissed!

My plan was to head to hotel and check in, then return for some more of the fun and yoga and meditation.  But once I got to the hotel I realized it had been a long day and I really didn't want to head out again.

Plus, the hotel had left me a nice little welcome package!

I grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant and called it an early night.  The next morning I headed back to the Convention Center.  And I wasn't the only one!  There were a bunch of people heading from my hotel, or nearby hotels.  And at every corner we picked up more and more people.  

The weather was perfect - in San Diego it's been really warm and humid, but in Vancouver it was slightly overcast, with just the barest chill in the air.

I headed over to the start line to get in my corral, but no one was getting in their corral.  It was just too crowded.  So I hung out on the sidewalk with other runners, just pressed into the crowd.  There were wave starts, so eventually we were able to get onto the course, and head to the start line.

We ran through Gastown and Chinatown and over the Georgia Viaduct which was decorated with those wavy hand guys.

Ride Cycle Club was out on the course, using their energy and motivation to keep us motivated.

There's nothing better than drummers on a race course, I firmly believe there's a connection between percussion and heartbeat.  It's such an energizer.

We ran beside False Creek - which was fun because typically I ferry across it!

The first 4 miles were so easy and fun.  My time was great, and I was feeling great.  We turned onto Burrard Street, which had just a minor incline, but for some reason I was feeling it.  I was really nothing compared with the hills at home, but I found myself having to push it as we went across Burrard Bridge into Kitsilano.

More drummers!  We ran around Kitsilano and through the misting station and back down - which meant downhill.  This is also where my Hadestown songs started popping on my playlist.  And let me tell you how much fun I had flying down the hill and singing:

"I'm coming wait for me

I feel the walls repeating

The echo of my feet

It sounds like drumming.

And I am not alone

I feel the rocks and stones

Echo in my song

I'm coming"

And after that we were running the coast at English Beach.

And all along the seawall.

Right before heading into Stanley Park we ran into a group of mermaids.

And then with a little less than 2 miles to go we were covered in trees in Stanley Park.

And then it was over.

We got our medals, hats, and headed up to grab brunch - banana bread, grapes, and yogurt.

And then we headed into the recovery room.  There were massage therapists, as well as self-care tools like theraguns and massaging chairs.

After a massage I headed back to my room for a long hot shower.  I walked around Vancouver a bit, picked up a snack and some treats, and then headed back to grab one of the shuttles to their Sunset Festival.  Because even though the weekend was over, the festivities were not.

Stanley Park had been turned into a yoga and music festival.  We spread out our mats and were led in meditation and a yoga class.

Before the music started, I had a little time to explore, grab a bite to eat.  And a beer specially brewed for the festival.

There were vendors and a pop-up shop, and even an "enchanted arcade" with video games.

At 7:30, the first act took the stage - Big Wild.  He kept the crowd energized as he danced around on stage, playing drums and speakers.

At 9:00 Kaskade lit up the night.  It was another high energy performance, but it was a long day and I'm an old lady.  So after a few songs I headed back to the shuttles to go home and go to sleep. 

The race itself was such a great experience.  I loved every minute of it, which I can't say for a lot of half marathons.  It didn't seem too long and there was no point at which I thought "why am I doing this."   There were water stations about every 2k (or 1.2 miles), two different misters on the course, and so many "activation stations" which is what they call the spin cyclers, the mermaids, the drummers, to keep you motivated.  But what makes it such a great race is that it's more than just a race.  I've traveled to a lot of races and sometimes that feels like a lot to do just to run 13 miles.  It seems a lot less of an ordeal when there's more to do than just run.  

Summer Fair: Simple Summer Salad

School's back, which is the unofficial end of summer - despite the fact that it's still so super hot here and theoretically we've got another month of "summer."

I think we've done a pretty good job of making the most of the summer.  Starting with the fair.  There's never enough time to do everything we want to do at the fair now that we have kids and head home before it gets dark.  So we made it out twice this year to fit in everything. 

The theme of the fair this year was "Ozsome", and there was a ton of Wizard of Oz themed attractions to peruse.

Including props to create your own scenes.

And the Wizard was there with some of his friends.

There were even themed food - like Emerald City lemonade.

The kids of course love the rides the best.

Due to Newcastle disease, the fair had a no fowls this year, which meant we didn't get to watch the turkey races.  I didn't mind so much, because as I predicted, the turkey people brought their camels instead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first time we went, Thatboy and Thatkid won a father/son look alike contest!

We listened to fair music, took silly fair pictures, and ate all the crazy fair food.

And as much as I love crazy fair food, it always makes me crave something healthier the next day.  It must be my body trying to right itself after spicy, fried foods.  Lately all I want is salads.  Green, leafy, crisp, crunchy salads.  And the nice thing about salads is they are incredibly easy to make.  Whether as a side dish or a main meal, they're on your plate in minutes. 

Simple Summer Salad

1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded

1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

2 bell peppers, julienned

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

1. Make a bed of the romaine on a platter or shallow bowl.
2. Arrange the grapefruit, peppers, and tomatoes atop the romaine.
3. Dress with a light vinaigrette.

Unicorns are FOUR-real: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Thatbaby has been very into unicorns this past year.  I'm not sure where it came from, other than the fact that unicorns are everywhere.  Including some of his favorite television programs like Peg and Corn, or Go Away Unicorn.  In any event, it's been unicorns, unicorns, everywhere unicorns around this house.  He even asked for a unicorn donut for his birthday breakfast.

So it should come as no surprise that he really wanted a unicorn birthday party.  And we aim to please round these parts.  It doesn't help that unicorns are everywhere right now, making this one of the easiest parties to plan.  Much easier than "Dinosaur Ice Cream" at least.

He knew for sure he wanted a unicorn bounce house at his party.  So unicorn bounce house it was.

Thatboy and I also stumbled across this Giant Unicorn sprinkler which we thought would be hours of fun for our kids all summer and set it up in the backyard - asking our guests to bring bathing suits.

They did.  It was really hot that day, so it was nice for the kids to have a break from that hot house that was the jumper and cool down a bit.  

Goodie bag treats were also really easy thanks to unicorns everywhere.

Each kid got a stuffed unicorn, a unicorn bath bomb, unicorn putty, unicorn stickers, unicorn fruit snacks, unicorn erasers, and a unicorn rubber ducky.

Unicorn decorations were everywhere, so it was easy to grab table coverings and centerpiece decorations.  I even found a balloon arch that matched the colors on the invitation, which became the colors of the party.  Thatboy and I are getting to be pros at blowing up balloons to create balloon arches!  They're my new favorite way to bring some fun into a party.  And the kids love tear them apart at the end.

I even picked up some bright pink unicorn planters on clearance and painted them to match the party colors, placing them on the table with skittles and lollipops.

The unicorn dessert table was Thatbaby's pick - watermelon, unicorn popcorn, unicorn rice krispie treats, even unicorn poptarts.  There was also unicorn ice cream which we kept inside until it was time to serve it.

Unicorn horns were made with pretzel sticks, wrapped in caramel, then dipped in melted chocolate.

I made little unicorn marshmallow pops which the kids thought were awesome.  Because who doesn't love marshmallows?

And I had unicorn macarons made by Candy's Sweet Treats.  These were not only beautiful, but absolutely delicious.

The kids weren't in love with unicorn kisses flavored water I purchased, choosing the "green fruit punch" requested by Thatbaby.  The grownups however?  They loved them.

The piece de resistance however were the unicorn cupcakes, a special request by Thatbaby.  He wanted unicorn cupcakes instead of a unicorn cake, and when I showed him pictures of cupcakes with colorful frosting swirls he told me he wanted chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  So these weren't the most colorful part of our party, but they may have been the most delicious.  Chocolate and gold look so festive together anyway.  I whipped out my Dorie Greenspan "Baking from My Home to Yours" book and found the perfect recipe.  Chocolate chocolate cupcakes.  

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes (By Dorie Greenspan)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick+ 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

5 oz bittersweet chocolate, divided

1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.  Melt 2 oz of the bitter sweet chocolate and let cool.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat 1 stick of butter in an electric mixer at medium speed until soft and creamy.
4. Add sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
5. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute.
6. Add the egg yolk and beat for 1 minute.
7. Beat in the vanilla.
8. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add half of the dry ingredients. mixing only until they disappear.
9. Add the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.
10. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.
11. Stir in the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula and divide batter among the cupcake liners.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a spaghetti noodle inserted into the center comes out clean.
12. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing them to cool completely.
13. Once the cupcakes are cool, melt the remaining bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler.  Transfer the top of the double boiler to a counter and let the melted chocolate stand for 5 minutes.
14. Whisk in the confectioners sugar.
15. Whisk in the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter.  Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache and give a little twirl as you lift out.  Let the glaze set.